Pamfilo of Magliano, O.S.F. (now O.F.M.), was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

, who went to the United States in 1855 to help establish the Order there. He was responsible for the establishment of major institutions of the Order in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

. He founded two religious institutes of Sisters of the

Third Order Regular of St. Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. The preaching of Francis and his disciples caused many married men and women to w ...

Early career

Little is known of Pamfilo's life prior to his admission into the Franciscan Order, other than that he was born Giovanni Paulo Pietrobattista on either 12 or 22 April 1824, in the village of

Magliano de' Marsi Magliano de' Marsi is a ''comune'' and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of southern-central Italy. The town is in the historical region Marsica. Main sights *Church of Santa Lucia, in late Gothic- Romanesque style, with Baro ...

, which is in the

Province of L'Aquila The Province of L'Aquila ( it, Provincia dell'Aquila) is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated province of the Abruzzo region of Central Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part o ...

in the mountainous

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

region of central Italy. At that time it was under the rule of the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

. Pietrobattista grew up in a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

administered by the Friars Minor and frequented their church. When he was of age, on 5 July 1839, he entered the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

of St. Bernadine of Siena, based in

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

, taking the name Pamfilo (possibly after St.

Pamphilus of Sulmona Saint Pamphilus of Sulmona ( it, Panfilo di Sulmona) (d. early 8th century) was bishop of Sulmona and a saint. Pamphilus was born in Abruzzo, probably around the middle of the 7th century. He was the son of a pagan who repudiated him when he ...

). He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

in Urbino on 18 December 1846. After his ordination, he was given

Chairs A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

in both philosophy and theology at the Order's friary there. He taught there until October 1852, when he was sent to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to serve as secretary to the Visitor General of the Order. On 8 December of that year, he began to teach at one of the Order's institutions of higher learning, the Irish College of St. Isidore, where he was able to perfect his command of English. He remained in this post until 4 January 1855.

Foundations in America

At this point, in response to an invitation by

John Timon John Timon, C.M. (February 12, 1797 – April 16, 1867) was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of the new Diocese of Buffalo in Western New York and founder of the brothers of the Holy Infancy religious order. B ...

Bishop of Buffalo The Diocese of Buffalo is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is a suffragan diocese within the metropolitan province of the Archdiocese of New York. The Diocese of Buffalo inclu ...

, seeking help in providing

pastoral care Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from rel ...

to the European immigrants moving in large numbers to his territory, Pamfilo was sent to the United States by the

Minister General Minister General is the term used for the leader or Superior General of the different branches of the Order of Friars Minor. It is a term exclusive to them, and comes directly from its founder, St. Francis of Assisi. He chose this word over "Super ...

of the Order of Friars Minor to establish their presence in the country. The friars received the personal blessing of

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

on 22 May 1855, before their departure. They set sail for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where they arrived on 20 June. He proceeded to lead his small band of friars in establishing a friary and an academy in Allegany, NY in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...

. By 1859, he was one of 14 founding friars who established St. Bonaventure College, which was to become St. Bonaventure University, and he was appointed as its first President. The academy drew young men who felt a

religious calling A calling, in the religious sense of the word, is a religious vocation (which comes from the Latin for "call") that may be professional or voluntary and, idiosyncratic to different religions, may come from another person, from a divine messenger, ...

to the Order, and with time Pamfilo was able to establish several communities of friars. When the sufficient number of communities with

professed A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a weddin ...

friars had been established, in 1861, with the permission of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, the

established a Custody of the Order, named

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

, for the recently defined

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

of the Church. Pamfilo was named ''

Custos {{Wiktionary, custos ''Custos'' is the Latin word for guard. Titles * Custos rotulorum ("keeper of the rolls"), a civic post in parts of the United Kingdom and in Jamaica * Custos (Franciscans), a religious superior or official in the Fran ...

'', the first regional Superior of the Order in the United States, and thus a significant step in the rooting of the Order in the nation. Under his leadership, the friars assumed the administration of two parishes in New York City,

St. Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

and St. Anthony of Padua in 1866. Both of these are still served by Franciscan friars.

Father Founder

In his position as Custos, Father Pamfilo was effectively the leader of the Franciscan Order in the nation in its various branches. In addition to the establishment of the friars, he also worked to support and guide the communities of women of the Third Order of St. Francis, who were springing up around the country to help educate the children of the Catholic immigrants flooding into the nation. To this end, in 1857 he recruited Mary Jane Todd to commit herself as a Sister of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. He gave her the

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...

and

her as a member of the Order. When other women came to join her, he acted as the Superior General of the new foundation, until they were able to establish themselves as an independent congregation, known as the

Franciscan Sisters of Allegany The congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, with its motherhouse at St. Elizabeth's Motherhouse, Allegany, New York, was founded in 1859 by the Very Rev. Father Pamfilo of Magliano, O.F.M. History Father Pamfilo had come to the United ...

. They worked to educate young women of western New York State. From there, their work has spread throughout the world. Likewise, in 1863 Magliano helped in the foundation of the Franciscan Sisters of

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...

. He gave official approval to their nascent community and he himself gave the

to their first

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

Return to Italy

In 1867, Pamfilo was summoned back to Italy. He later learned that this was due to misinformation given to the Minister General by one of the friars. By then, however, the damage was done, as he had already been replaced as Custos. He felt his departure greatly, for his letters indicate how much he had come to love his adopted country. Yet he never showed any bitterness at his treatment in his journals. In a Christmas message to one of the American friars from his new home in Rome, he wrote:

My health, thank God, continues to be good. I hope and pray that you and all the friars there are enjoying the best of health; and I wish each and everyone of you, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Your affectionate confrere, Pamfilo.

Pamfilo devoted the remaining years of his life to writing and the publication of significant works, the most important being his ''Storia Compendiosa di San Francesco e dei Francescani'' in two substantial volumes. He died before the third volume could be completed. Pamfilo had returned to an Italy in the midst of the struggle for its unification. Several times, the community in which he lived had to flee the armies of

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

. Finally he was able to take refuge in Rome at the friary attached to the Church of

San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain) is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative '' martyrium'' (tomb) built by Donato Bramante. History The Church of San Pietro in ...

, traditional site of the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

. It was there that Pamfilo died on 15 November 1876, at the age of 52. He was buried in the Cemetery of Verano in Rome.

References

{{Authority control 1824 births 1876 deaths People from the Province of L'Aquila Italian Friars Minor Franciscan scholars 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Founders of Catholic religious communities Burials at Campo Verano Servant Franciscans

Early career

Foundations in America

Father Founder

Return to Italy

See also

References